The funeral procession of Boris III

The funeral procession of King Boris III is one of the most memorable manifestations of mass grief in the modern history of Bulgaria. The reasons are many and this is not the place to analyse them. The purpose of this short post is only to present a quote from a police report published in the scientific literature. The post also includes a relatively unknown drawing by the great Bulgarian artist Konstantin Shrkelyov, dedicated to the death of the monarch.

The funeral procession of King Boris III. Drawing "The Tsar-United on the Deathbed", author K. Shrkelyov. The drawing was brought to the attention of the police, as evidenced by the report of Inspector K. Gigov to Nikola Geshev himself that K. Shrkelyov drew a posthumous portrait. Source. XXV, no. 7256, 4 September 1943, p. 1.

The funeral procession of Boris III in a police report (1)

"Nikola Geshev received on 6.IX. the following report about the funeral procession:

"I bring it to your attention, Mr. Chief, that I have been tasked with a group of 5 scouts... guarding the Blvd. "Tsar Liberator" from the street. "Rakovski" to ul. "Benkovski" opposite the Russian Church, on the occasion of the funeral procession of N. В. Boris III.

The area was surveyed at 4 t.m., and all scouts were assigned the locations they should occupy at 5 t.m. I received the declarations of the persons who would be in the buildings comprising my area during the procession. The following buildings were included: ul. "The marchers included in the march were: '96 Rakovski Blvd. "8, 8a and 10. On 5.t.m. at 6 o'clock all the scouts, decently dressed, coiffed and shaved, appeared at the appointed place. I commenced an inspection of the persons present in the apartments and it was found that the persons present in the apartments were recorded in the statements previously distributed to them. I also checked the shops and restaurants."

The funeral procession of Boris III in a police report (2)

"Before 6 o'clock the people had stood on the flagstones, and gradually the flagstones were filled with people who humbly awaited the passing of the procession. At the appearance of the remains of H.V. King the whole people began to wail, and scarcely ceased when the deputies had passed.

After that, together with the group, I went to the front of the police headquarters, from where we went by cars to the Blvd. "Hristo Botev" to the train station and took our newly assigned places on the boulevard. "Hristo Botev", the corner "Radovish" between the people. And here the people met with humility the remains of N. В. King and sent them away with lamentations.

No incidents with citizens were noted during the funeral procession. The police behaved well and also the scouts entrusted to me behaved very well with the citizenry and no incident was recorded.

Annex: the declarations.

Group leader: Ivan Bozhilov."

Source. King Boris III. Biography. S., 2004, pp. 426-427

Author.

Hello, my name is Ilarion Kapitanov and I am the founder of Kiparis Funeral Agency. I created this blog to help people find reliable information about funeral services, rituals and Bulgarian customs drawing from my professional experience as a funeral home owner.

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